Malaysia set to spend US$50b to develop rail network

Malaysia plans to spend a staggering US$50 billion to develop its rail network over the next seven years,  including a high-speed rail linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore set for 2020, and the urban mass rapid transit system that is rolling out in 2017.

• NLARGE

MALAYSIA: Malaysia plans to spend a staggering US$50 billion to develop its rail network over the next seven years, including a high-speed rail linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore set for 2020, and the urban mass rapid transit system that is rolling out in 2017.

Compared to developed countries where rail transport makes up a third of public transportation, Malaysia's share is less than 4 per cent.

People here rely heavily on roads because existing train services are slow and train journeys are time consuming. However with spiralling land and fuel costs, limited space and traffic congestion, rail transportation is seeing a revival.

Prime Minister Najib Razak recently announced big plans for the country at a global rail conference.

Mr Najib said: "Once considered a dying industry, railroads have made a strong comeback and are poised to become busier passageways in the years ahead."

According to the land public transport commission (SPAD), the government has allocated almost US$50 billion for rail-related projects - three times more than what it spent in the last two decades.

The MY Rapid Transit (MRT), when fully operational, will cover a distance of 150 kilometres and provide half of the public transport services in the Klang Valley.

Commuter train services will also be expanded with the electrified double track railway. Spanning 1,000 kilometres from Padang Besar in the north, to Johor Bahru in the south, the project is expected to cost the government over US$13 billion.

Despite the massive cost overruns and project delays, KTM, as well as the government, want the electrified double track rail to be ready two years ahead of the scheduled completion of the high-speed rail linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore by year 2018.

Mr Syed Hamid Albar, SPAD chairman, said: "It's not a competition... I think we are looking at people, the sector we are looking at generally is people who may like to go by flight for long distances (but not for short distances). But not everybody likes to go on fast trains, because fast trains there will be different cost elements. So I think both can be complementary."

Still there has been much buzz about the high-speed rail link. It will have a 90-minute express service every hour, as well as three transit services lasting less than two hours.

Tickets will be priced below that of budget airlines.

Malaysia's technical team will engage its Singapore counterpart next month. Negotiations may take up to 12 months before the tender process begins. Construction is expected to begin by 2015, before the scheduled take off in 2020. 

- CNA/ac

The vicinity of Republic Polytechnic in Singapore and terminating stations of the link would be in the city of JB Sentral , Johor Bahru , Johore , Malaysia

Project Value	RM 1.50 bn   (US$ 428.57 mn ) Approximate .	Town	Johor Bahru	Project Category	Infrastructure
Project Stage	Concept	Province	Johore	Subcategory	Road, Runway & Other Surfaces / Tunnel / Bridge / Civil Works, Excavation
Project Status	On-track	Region	Malaysia 2B	ProjectID	10865003
Construction Start		Floor Area		Ownership Type	Government
Construction End		Site Area		Development Type	New Building/Construction
Time Stamp	03 Dec 2012 00:00	Storeys
Green Building Rating

MALAYSIA-SINGAPORE RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM (RTS) LINK

Civil works for an intercontinental rapid transit link with three options, to include:

     •  another Causeway or a land bridge (first option)
     •  an elevated bridge (second option)
     •  a tube tunnel made elsewhere and sank from the surface of the sea or a bore tunnel involving drilling work (like the Smart tunnel in Kuala Lumpur)

Elevated bridge design will include:

     •  a low bridge with an elevation of below 15 metres and impassable by boats
     •  a high bridge of at least seven storeys high or more than 35 metre high and passable to large vessels

Which is the better choice (the RTS link) will depend on the recommendations of the study, engineering point of view, costing as well as environmental impact. An announcement could either be made in the first or third quarter of 2013, or even a month after the study was submitted to the respective governments.